REPORT: Sheikh el-Rafei: Sunnites in Lebanon are marginalized

The Army Command said on Tuesday that it arrested on 28-06-2013, Ghali Haddara in one of Keserwan's resorts  and seized  tools used to fabricate hand grenades and electric detonators.

The command revealed that Haddara confessed to having smuggled large amounts of weapons into Sheikh Ahmad Assir's mosque complex in Sidon's Abra.

Sheikh Salem al-Rafei

A meeting was held for Dar al-Fatwa clerics of Tripoli to discuss Tripoli's latest incidents.

Following the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed Imam read a statement in the name of the convened members, in which they considered that Tripoli is being targeted.

For his part, Sheikh Salem al-Rafei said that the Sunnite sect feels "marginalized", adding that several Sunnites are put in prisons without trial.

He also added that some sides drifted Sidon's residents into a battle with the Lebanese army, in reference to the latest clashes in Abra.

Sheikh al-Rafei accused some Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers "of taking orders from Iran."

He also urged Tripoli's residents to confront the "Hezbollah plot against them."


Calm prevails in Tripoli

This comes as normality returned on Tuesday morning to the northern city of Tripoli after security clashes erupted on Monday evening at Abdel Hamid Karami roundabout, killing a citizen identified as 75-year-old Salim Amin al-Achqar who suffocated due to the smoke resulting from fire erupting in a number of shops, and injuring several others.

Since the early morning, workers from the municipality of Tripoli have been working on cleaning the Abdel Hamid Karami Square, while the Lebanese Armed Forces conducted patrols in the streets.

Gunmen blocked on Monday afternoon all the roads leading to al-Nour Square in the northern city of Tripoli, to protest against the arrest of citizen Ghali Hadara who was detained by the Intelligence branch in Tabarja after appearing in a video alongside former singer and now militant Fadel Shaker.

Sources reported that gunshots and explosions were heard in the vicinity of the Square, while gunmen roamed the streets, leading shop owners to close down for the day.


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